Mr. Speaker, I have had an active dialogue with a number of communities, and certainly with first nations and the south Asian community. I have met with the leaders of five gurdwaras in Surrey who are very concerned about the activity of south Asian youth and how they are overrepresented in some of the youth gang activities. They will be delighted with my support for this legislation, because it gives an appropriate intervention point for both indigenous youth and south Asian youth, who are overrepresented.

The bill gives us a point where we can administratively respond to them in a positive, active fashion. This legislation provides us with a good opportunity to ensure that their lifestyle becomes much more positive. They could fit more actively into the lifestyle their communities want and are so active to support. We are giving them that option.

Before we go to resuming debate and the hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I will let her know that there are only about five minutes remaining in the time before we get to statements by members. She will have her remaining time when we next get back to debate on the question that is before the House.

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, in the heart of the beautiful upper Ottawa Valley, I appreciate this limited opportunity to contribute to this truncated debate on a piece of legislation that is important to my constituents.

I begin my comments by sharing some thoughts from a group called Because Wilno, and why it reiterates the word “because”. They state:

Because on September 22, 2015, Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam were killed in their homes near Wilno, Ontario.

Because they were killed by a man they knew, who had a history of domestic violence known to police for over three decades.

Because even after violence is reported, people slip through the cracks in the system.

Because advocates have been calling for these cracks to be addressed, for decades.

Because dealing with violence is particularly challenging in our rural communities.

Because coercion and control of women is a spectrum that can begin with words and escalate towards lethal violence including multiple killings.

Because the culture of society, policing and courts needs to be better.

Because women continue to be killed in Canada, at a rate of 1 every 6 days.

Because we couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.

Because we think you can help.

I thank Holly Campbell, who organized the group Because Wilno.

Violence against women is not new. While I would like to believe, coming from a predominantly rural riding like mine in eastern Ontario, that violence against women is a city problem, we know that is not the case. Violence against women continues to be a fact of life in Canada, and in a predominantly rural riding like Renfrew County, Carol Culleton, Nathalie Warmerdam and Anastasia Kuzyk were killed on September 22, 2015. Their killer was known to all of the women and to police as having a long history of violence spanning more than three decades. While the accused had previously been ordered by court to attend counselling for abusers, he never went. He had been released from prison shortly before the murders. The system failed these women. On average in Canada one woman is killed by her partner every six days. The man arrested and accused of their murders had a long criminal history, including charges involving two of the three women.

Holly Campbell, who organized the group Because Wilno, issued this statement to legislators like us:

For too long, Canadians have looked away from violence in our homes that predominantly harms women and children in every neighbourhood, district, municipal ward and constituency of this country.

Like Holly, I am not prepared to let Carol, Nathalie, Anastasia and all the other women who have been victims of violence die in vain. The memory of their senseless deaths is too fresh not to be moved to action. I support the proposal in Bill C-75 that would increase the maximum term of imprisonment for repeat offences involving intimate partner violence and provide that abuse of an intimate partner be an aggravating factor on sentencing, as well as provide for more onerous interim release requirements for offences involving violence against an intimate partner.

The Conservative Party believes, as do I, that the safety of Canadians should be the number one priority of any government. We will always work to strengthen the Canadian criminal justice system, rather than weaken it. The Conservatives understand that a strong criminal justice system must always put the rights of victims and communities before special treatment of perpetrators of violent crimes.

My question for the government is this. Does Bill C-75, in its other 300 pages, meet the expectations of Canadians? The fact that the current government has decided to move forward with precisely the omnibus legislative format it condemned so vociferously in opposition suggests to my constituents and to all Canadians that the contents of Bill C-75 are being rushed forward as an omnibus bill precisely because these contents are out of touch with the concerns of average Canadians.

The hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke will have five and a half minutes remaining in her time for her remarks, and another five minutes for questions and comments when the House next resumes debate on the question.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the passing of Joe lafrancesco from Kelowna, British Columbia.

A steadfast volunteer, Joe was well known for his dedicated service to our community. Joe gave back through many of the clubs he belonged to and was actively involved over the years in Rotary, the Knights of Columbus, the Lions Club and was president of the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club. Joe also served as a member of Crime Stoppers, the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Kelowna Association and the Uptown Rutland Business Association.

To the end, Joe always put community before himself. Even in the final weeks, Joe and his wife Bianca made significant financial donations to both JoeAnna's House and the cancer care fund at the Kelowna General Hospital.

Big Joe added big value to our community, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. He will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, this year, I am wearing a bow tie instead of growing the traditional mustache to mark Movember, as men's health awareness month is known across Canada.

When Cathy, Mino, Maxime and Samuel, residents of my riding, asked me to be the honorary chair of Govember, the regional equivalent of Movember, I immediately accepted. I suggested throwing an intergenerational party to spread the message about protecting men's health throughout Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup.

The Thibault GM Govember dance-a-thon will be held on Saturday, November 17, from noon to midnight at the Bombardier Centre in La Pocatière. I want to thank the local dance schools that will be putting on demonstrations throughout the day.

All of the proceeds will be divided between the André Côté Foundation, the Notre-Dame-de-Fatima Hospital Foundation, and the Maison de la famille du Kamouraska in Saint-Pascal.

I hope you like to dance, Mr. Speaker, because I am inviting you and all parliamentarians to participate in my dance-a-thon.

Mr. Speaker, this Remembrance Day will mark 100 years since a brave young soldier, in the final moments before the armistice, lost his life, etching the name George Lawrence Price in the history books as the last Canadian and Commonwealth soldier to die in World War One.

Price was a Nova Scotian boy, a farm labourer, and after moving to Saskatchewan, he was conscripted in 1917. About a year later, on the November 10, Price's battalion took part in an attack on the Belgian city of Mons, tasked with taking the canal. However, on the morning of November 11, only minutes before the ceasefire, Price was shot in the chest by a German sniper, dying at 10:58.

On this Remembrance Day, we remember the valour, the courage and the sacrifice of soldiers like Price, who fought and gave their lives for our freedom. Please join me in honouring and remembering Nova Scotia's Private George Lawrence Price.

Mr. Speaker, in a couple of days, we will be honouring all veterans on Remembrance Day. I want to salute them. I also want to pay tribute to those we sometimes forget: the Inuit, the Métis and first nations veterans. It is estimated that between 7,000 and 12,000 indigenous people participated in the two world wars and the Korean War.

For their sacrifice, they returned home only to continue to endure exclusion and injustice, serving in different battalions and regiments, sometimes as snipers or code talkers. Although there is much work to do, I want to to honour them on this 25th indigenous veterans day today, and extend our sincere meegwetch for their invaluable contributions to this country.

Mr. Speaker, a hundred years ago, Canada's wartime aviators were household names. Billy Bishop, the highest scoring ace in the Royal Flying Corps, was Canadian; Raymond Collishaw, the highest scoring ace in the Royal Naval Air Service, was Canadian; so was Andrew McKeever, the highest scoring two-seater ace; so was Roy Brown, who shot down the Red Baron; so too was Alan McLeod, the pilot who became the youngest man ever to win the Victoria Cross.

Canada contributed more to the war in the air than did any other allied country. Twenty-two thousand Canadians served in the air war. Our country produced 171 officially recognized flying aces. Of the top scoring aces of all countries, on both sides, fully one-quarter were Canadian. Thousands more flew perilous artillery spotting missions, and the majority of these did not live to see the end of the war.

Ours is a glorious and tragic history. We owe it to these heroes never to let their memory lapse.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to recognize the work and dedication of the Coopérative des techniciens ambulanciers du Québec, or CTAQ, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary on December 15.

CTAQ is a paramedic co-operative that covers the largest territory in Quebec. It has more than 400 members who work day after day to provide top-notch paramedic services. CTAQ is recognized for its leadership and emergency medical services that exceed industry standards.

I want to take this opportunity today to congratulate all members of CTAQ for their dedication and the excellent work they do in service of Quebeckers. I thank them for their professionalism and unwavering commitment to the many lives that depend on their services.

On behalf of everyone in Louis-Hébert, I wish the Coopérative des techniciens ambulanciers du Québec all the best and many more years of success. I thank the ambulance technicians for their excellent work.

Mr. Speaker, on that January night in 1958, as Willie O'Ree skated into history as NHL's first black player, his family, friends and fans back in Fredericton were cheering him on. On Monday, when he is finally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, we can bet they will all be cheering again.

Neither physical limitations nor racial taunts held Willie back from pursuing his goal. His journey is a story that continues to inspire us all.

It is to our community's credit that colour was not an issue when Willie was growing up as a kid playing on the neighbourhood rink by Charlotte Street. “The fact that I was black never came up when we played as kids” said Willie. “You could have been purple with a green stripe down the middle of your forehead, and it wouldn't have mattered. It was only later, when...I learned what 'colour barrier' meant.”

Willie O'Ree knew people would be staring at him that night at the old Montreal Forum. Nervous though he was, he chose to keep on skating. We thank Willie for that. As Willie likes to say, “ If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right.”

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, November 11, thousands of Canadians will gather at various war memorials in Canada to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice made by so many of our ancestors and our contemporaries.

Our soldiers sacrificed their lives not only during both world wars, but also more recently, in UN peacekeeping missions and in Afghanistan, where Canada served to combat terrorism. Let us not forget the 158 soldiers we lost in this recent and major war in Afghanistan. Corporal Jean-François Drouin, from my region of Beauport, bravely served his country in Afghanistan and lost his life on September 6, 2009. Since then, his courageous parents have laid a wreath in Beauport every year in memory of their son. Let us keep them in our hearts and thoughts.

Let us never forget the ultimate sacrifice that Corporal Jean-François Drouin made for our great federation. Lest we forget.

Mr. Speaker, this Remembrance Day, Canadians will honour the service and sacrifice of our veterans and the 100th year anniversary of the end of the Great War.

Canada joined the war as a British colony and ended it as a united country.

I had the honour to be in France this August to celebrate Canada's 100 days that led to the armistice. The Canadian Expeditionary Force did what no other nation could do, defeating 47 German divisions, representing a quarter of the German forces, over those 100 days. I was proud to witness how our Canadian Armed Forces were respected worldwide for their dedication to freedom and peace.

We live in the greatest country in the world, by any measure. We have these blessings because, as it has been said in song, “all gave some, some gave all”. When our brave men and women return from their missions, we have a duty to care for the injured. Never are they asking for more than we can give.

Mr. Speaker, this Remembrance Day will mark 100 years since the end of World War One.

I rise today to celebrate a town in my riding that has a unique place in the history of the end of the First World War. North Sydney became the first community in North America to celebrate the end of the war.

On November 10, 1918, the Western Union Cable office in North Sydney received a message that the war would end the following day. The message notified that peace was to be observed on “the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month” of that year.

A parade was formed, a concert was held, bonfires were lit and celebrations continued far into the night. The town celebrated a day before the rest of North America even knew there was a truce. In all this, North Sydney has carved a distinct position as the first community to celebrate the end of the the world war.

On this November 10, the 100th anniversary of the date the message arrived in North Sydney, I look forward to joining join Cape Bretoners at the North Sydney Historical Society's celebrations to mark this one-of-a-kind piece of history.

Mr. Speaker, each Remembrance Day, Canadians pause in a collective moment of silence to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. In that moment, we remember not only their sacrifice but their commitment. We recognize our freedom, which they fought so hard to preserve, and we pay homage to their courage.

As we mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War and the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, we pay tribute to each and every one of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and we salute those who returned, forever changed by their experience. We will always remember their selfless courage.

Mr. Speaker, when Canadians learned that eight-year-old Tori Stafford's killer was transferred to a healing lodge just eight years into a 25-year sentence, they were rightly outraged. We heard that outrage from across the country, on talk radio and in newspaper columns. Anyone who heard this knew it was wrong for Tori's killer to be transferred.

Instead of doing the right thing from the start, the Prime Minister and his ministers became indignant in their defence of the indefensible, putting the rights of criminals over those of their victims. They accused Canadians of politicizing the issue. They accused Canadians of being fearmongers. They hid behind privacy concerns and bureaucrats instead of having the fortitude to act and make the right decision.

Tory's family spoke out. It held a protest right here on Parliament Hill. Canadians called on the government to intervene and at the end of it, Canadians were right; the Liberals were wrong.

We learned today that instead of being surrounded by trees and children, Terri-Lynne McClintic is back behind bars and razor wire where she belongs. Thank God Canadians spoke out. The Conservatives will always stand up for the rights of victims.

Mr. Speaker, Angus “Gus” Cameron is a veteran and a devoted veterans advocate in Halifax.

Last year, Mr. Cameron came to me because he and fellow veterans were rightly disappointed that the former Conservative government had cancelled the veterans identification card. To veterans across the country, that card was a symbol of a nation's gratitude, one that they could carry with them wherever they went, giving them access to the benefits they had earned through their courageous service to Canada.

It was an honour to partner with Gus and his fellow veterans to sponsor a petition to the House, calling on our government to reinstate the veterans ID card. I am proud to say that our government answered that call and reintroduced the veterans identification card.

Mr. Speaker, this morning, 3,000 Canadians woke up to very bad news: Bombardier is going to cut 3,000 jobs, with 2,500 of them in Quebec. Our thoughts are with these people.

Members will recall that the Liberal government decided to lend $375 million to Bombardier two years ago. Bombardier has 30 years to repay this loan, but unfortunately it was never required to preserve jobs. Today, 3,000 workers are losing their jobs.

Can the Prime Minister tell us why, when he decided to lend taxpayers' money to Bombardier, he did not attach a guarantee—

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts are with the workers, families and communities affected by this morning's announcement.

We are always concerned any time we hear about potential job losses. Our government is committed to ensuring the long-term viability and success of the Canadian aerospace sector. We will work with our aerospace industry to improve access to global markets and supply chains for one of Canada's most innovative and export-oriented industries.

Mr. Speaker, those are fine words, but he should have thought of that two years ago when he loaned Bombardier $375 million of taxpayers' money.

Meanwhile the soap opera starring the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel is an absolute farce. In the latest episode, we just learned that he is finally going to step down on January 22, that is, exactly nine months less a day before the federal election. What does that mean? No byelection. What does that mean? The people of his riding will have no representation in the House of Commons until the general election.